BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This invention relates in general to umbrellas and weather protectors in general, and more particularly to a plurality of umbrella components, preferably made from plastic, and which may include a fabric or transculent sheet fabric or the like type of canopy and which may be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled by the user thereof.
Conventional umbrellas require the mechanical assembly of numerous parts made to close mechanical tolerances and because of the precise operation required includes inherent weaknesses in the ribs and other structures. Commonly, such other umbrellas are prone to being turned inside out and are easily damaged or even destroyed as a consequence of adverse weather. More importantly, conventional umbrellas are rather fragile because they are made of an interacting association of thin metal wires and springs and are often placed in such severe tension when deployed that the slightest contact with the fabric thereof will produce a tear.
Still further, the metal assembly of conventional umbrellas requires numerous special metal forming tools for parts and costly time expenditures for assembly. The present invention is easily made in quantity from molded plastic parts which may, with facility, be securely snapped together and which is possessed of marked structural integrity even in extremely adverse weather and severe winds. Still further, the umbrella of the present invention may be readily deployed and disassembled by simply removing a single flexible strip, subsequent to which the umbrella is easily taken apart and packaged as a plurality of elongate, but sturdy wood, plastic or metal pieces.